Iranian footballer escapes death penalty but is sentenced to prison

Iranian soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani, 26, was sentenced on Monday (9) to at least 16 years in prison for taking part in protests for women’s rights in his country in November.

News agencies and international vehicles, however, differ on the exact prison time to which the Iranian was sentenced. The Iran International television channel cites that the sentence is 21 years. In the morning, the BBC had released 16 years, but in a new publication in the afternoon, it reported a total of 26.

Nasr-Azadani is accused of being a member of an armed group allegedly responsible for the murder of three security agents in November in Isfahan, in the central region of the country, according to the BBC.

Iranian authorities say he confessed to the crime and that they have security camera recordings and other evidence against him and other defendants, which total nine people.

The athlete dealt with the possibility of being sentenced to death. His case gained repercussions during the World Cup in Qatar, when different social groups denounced that the defender had been detained by Iranian security forces.

Activists, players and organizations such as Fifpro (International Federation of Football Players, the union of the category) were strongly positioned against the possibility of executing the athlete.

Also on Monday, three other men believed to have participated in the murders of the agents were sentenced to death, reported the Iranian news agency Mizad.

The three men, Saleh Mir-Hashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, were accused of “moharebeh”, which means “war against God”, a vague religious concept. Nasr-Azadani was charged with the crime of “assembly and collusion leading to security-related crimes”.

There is an appeal. However, in other cases involving protesters, appeals did not overturn the verdicts.